This invention relates to a support device for the spare wheel of a motor vehicle and particularly but not exclusively for a motor vehicle of the type having a tail gate which can pivot about a horizontal axis to be raised and lowered for cargo access.
Various designs of device for this purpose have been provided, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,312,620; 4,483,468; 3,362,597; 2,819,004; 3,387,754; 3,610,658. In addition, some designs have been put on the market and have been shown in various magazines.
However, generally, these designs require modifications to the basic vehicle including drilling holes in body parts, cutting parts of a bumper away and mounting a device, for example, on the bumper.
Various recent designs of a vehicle are available and often these include a support for a license plate which is positioned centrally of the bumper and slightly below the bumper which is also the location of a towing bracket which forms part of the vehicle.
It is highly undesirable in any equipment mounted on a vehicle after manufacture that any holes be drilled in the vehicle or the modifications made since these modifications will form the basis for corrosion and may cause distortion or other damage to the vehicle.
It is also highly desirable that a device of this type provides a highly attractive appearance so as not to detract from the design of the original vehicle, particularly bearing in mind the high cost of vehicles in the current market conditions.
Current vehicles such as the GMC Jimmy Range and similar vehicles such as the Blazer and Bronco have an area set aside inside the rear of the vehicle for receiving a spare wheel. However, this spare wheel can significantly reduce the cargo area since the spare wheel is mounted on top of the flat floor plate which defines the rear of the vehicle and in many cases defines the flat area with the folded down rear seats. Many users, therefore, often prefer to carry the spare wheel outside the vehicle on the roof, attached to the front or attached to a specially provided carrier at the rear of the vehicle. None of the devices currently available is entirely satisfactory since they do not provide the required attractive appearance and in many cases can cause damage to the vehicle structure when attached as a retrofit.